Maternity care deserts, colonoscopy extravaganza & FOMO psychology 🤯
Coming in hot, one more healthcare newsletter you never asked for. But I promise, we’re cooler.
Think about it 💡
🤰 The crisis of maternity care in the US. A new report from March of Dimes shows that the number of U.S. counties classified as "maternity care deserts" - any county lacking a hospital or birth facility offering maternity care and with no obstetric care providers - has grown by 2 percent since the organization's 2020 report. More than one-third of all counties are identified by the report as maternity care deserts, the majority of which are found in rural areas.
📌 Seven million women nationwide live in areas where there is no or limited maternity care services. With the highest maternal mortality rate among similar high-income countries - a rate that continues to rise year after year - the United States is in the midst of a maternal care crisis. Minority women - particularly black women - are over three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women.
🤔 It also conveniently turns out that states with the strictest abortion laws also have the lowest maternal support. Systemic elements such as hospital closures do not help the situation either: 183 rural hospitals have closed since January 2005.
🏥 Clinical trials & pharma giants. Walmart introduced the Walmart Healthcare Research Institute to promote greater equity in clinical trials for drugs treating chronic diseases. Sounds familiar? Clinical trials have received increasing attention from pharma giants of late, with Walgreens and CVS having also launched their own dedicated clinical trials verticals.
📱 All three were unveiled with the underlying goal of targeting populations historically under-represented in clinical trials. These include the elderly, minority populations, women, and people living in rural areas. Walmart will not lead the clinical trials per se, but will connect customers to research opportunities through its MyHealthJourney app, which will inform users of care services and options they can leverage to better manage their own health.
Though these verticals will most certainly serve the field, Walmart & co might have more than patient care in mind (=💰).
Lead from behind 🩺
Zocdoc’s report: 2022 cancer screening and prevention
📊 There was apparently a "Ryan Reynolds effect" on the number of colonoscopies scheduled last month. On September 13, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney released an awareness video about Ryan's first colonoscopy. A report published by Zocdoc indicates that in the three weeks following the release of the video, the number of colonoscopy appointments increased by 36% per day compared to the 100-day period prior to the video's release. So, in addition to being the absolute king of comedy and the ultimate wife guy (sorry, Ned), RR is also at the forefront of cancer prevention, from behind.
Neat News 🗞️
🛫 Small plane pilots volunteer to help people access abortion care. Neat.
🦾 Robots help immunocompromised children "go to school". Super neat.
🌈 FOLX raised $30 million in a Series B to power LGTBQ+ telehealth support groups. Ultra neat.
What the hellth? 🔬
🐅 You really should have gone to that party. What if it turned out to be, like, the party of the century. The kind of party where you run into Mike Tyson's pet tiger in the bathroom. It’s a good thing we invented this healthy and convenient little tool called social media on which you spend about 147 minutes of your day and where you can endlessly witness all the fun you’re constantly missing out on. You’ve lost sleep and your Google calendar now looks like the scheduling equivalent of the TV aisles of Best Buy on a Black Friday. My friend, you suffer from FOMO, the modern disease inherent to the human condition.
🧠 The psychology of FOMO has been analyzed by experts as related to the fundamental human need of belonging. Feeling connected to others makes you feel less stressed, which supports both the nervous and immune systems. Inversely, FOMO impacts the brain in the same way as other states of anxiety. The brain feels a threat, in this case social, and activates a "fight or flight" response, putting you on high alert. Your nervous system is jittery, you feel uneasy and driven to seek out some relief, hence the compensatory mechanism of over-scheduling.
Clean Content 🧼
📝 The 5 main reasons why users might stop using your mobile health app.
👩⚕️ Great insights on the rise of the direct-to-clinician model, product-led growth, and engagement.
🍿 In the mood for a one-minute movie sesh? Sit back, relax and munch on your buttery popcorn while we tell you all about Nabla's superpowered notes.
This is what you came for 🍑
🎃 Halloween is coming and with it many fun activities that you were absolutely not coerced into participating in by your girlfriend. Pumpkin patch trips, pumpkin head carving, pumpkin spice mixes, pumpkin pie bakin’. You get it, it’s pumpkin season. It turns out that pumpkins could fill a more important role than a mere prop for the dreaded Instagram fall season. As a matter of fact, the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago found that the smell of pumpkin can actually increase blood flow to the penis, causing an erection. Wholesome fall fact!
Happy fall, y’all 🍁.